Preparing for an Italian Easter in East Boston

In my family Easter means braided breads with eggs in the middle and other traditional sweets and pies.

Pizza rustica, also known in many dialects as “piena,” “chiena” and “ghena,” is very common, especially among those who hail from the Campania Region. (Avellino, Naples, etc.) In my family’s Calabrese tradition, pizza rustica is not that popular, however, we’ve adopted the tradition of making it anyway.

In the photos below, my mother and friend are making the breads which they focused on today. These particular braided rolls are dense and slightly sweet. The egg in the middle is the contrast to the sweet taste in each bite.

The other bread or pastry that you see is called “pitte” in our dialect. We usually make these at Christmas time. These half shaped moons are filled with a mixture of dried figs, nuts, cocoa and hint of nutmeg.

By next week I am sure the pizza rustica will be prepared so look back for more photos!

About Lisa Cappuccio

Lisa is an East Boston resident who works in the area of media and public relations. She is President of Italia Unita Inc. of Massachusetts, a non-profit organization that promotes Italian culture and heritage.
Lisa worked and volunteered in the areas of public relations, community development, film, politics, and radio. Through Italia Unita, Lisa initiated the grass roots effort to have Comcast Cable add RAI television, which is now available as a premium channel. Lisa is the president of Boston Concepts, a full service marketing and public relations agency.